P,\H. 

MISC. 


NO.  900. 


How  to  Prepare  for  the 
Visit  of  a  Missionary 


BY  THE  REVEREND  EVERETT  P.  SMITH 


I.  Preliminary 

IND  out  as  much  about  him  and  his 


field  as  you  can  Make  up  your 


^  mind  what  kind  of  people  could  be 
permanently  interested  in  his  work,  and 
in  your  plans  give  the  preference  to  them 
in  regard  to  time,  place,  and  character 
of  meeting. 

2.  Call  a  meeting  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Church  societies  that  you  wish  to  inter¬ 
est  and  talk  to  them  of  the  unusually 
good  chance  to  hear  of  missions  at  first 

hand  from  Mr.  A - .  When  you  have 

interested  them,  ask  them  if  they  wish 
their  societies  to  be  considered  in  ar¬ 
ranging  his  appointments  and  what  they 
can  do  to  secure  a  large  attendance 

3.  Suggest  your  outline  of  meetings 
and  your  general  plan  of  preparation, 
and  then  divide  the  work  of  your  com¬ 
mittee.  One  has  influence  with  the  local 
newspapers  and  should  be  made  respon¬ 
sible  for  the  press  notices ;  another,  who 


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knows  some  one  in  a  printing- ofiBce  and 
can  secure  good  work  at  fair  rates,  should 
be  given  charge  of  the  printing;  bicy¬ 
clists  and  those  who  may  have  a  carriage 
at  their  disposal  can  be  made  responsible 
for  the  distribution  of  notices  and  board 
leaflets  in  outlying  parishes.  In  general, 
give  each  member  of  the  committee 
something  to  do. 

II.  Character  and  Number  of 
Meetings 

1.  Have  as  many  different  kinds  of 
meetings  as  you  have  kinds  of  listeners, 
unless  prevented  by  the  shortness  of  the 
missionary’s  visit.  Several  small  audi¬ 
ences,  each  with  its  special  grade  of  in¬ 
telligence  and  interest  in  missionary 
matters,  offer  a  better  opportunity  for 
a  speaker  than  a*far  larger  general  gath¬ 
ering.  Children  are  most  interested  to 
hear  about  work  among  children,  the 
Woman’s  Auxiliary  in  talks  about 
woman’s  work,  the  Brotherhood  of  St. 
Andrew  and  men  in  general  are  most  in¬ 
terested  in  work  among  men.  Recognize 
this  fact  if  possible  in  planning  for  the 
missionary’s  visit. 

2.  Hold  the  meetings  in  places  that  are 
accessible  and  not  too  large.  A  small 
church  or  hall  full  of  people  is  far  better 
than  a  place  twice  as  large,  but  little 
more  than  half  filled.  Have  the  meet¬ 
ing  where  the  accommodations  are  elas¬ 
tic  (but  do  not  bring  in  extra  chairs  until 


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they  are  needed),  or  that  allows  for  over¬ 
flowing,  if  occasion  calls  for  it,  into  a 
larger  place  in  the  same  building.  In 
arranging  for  a  meeting  in  a  parish,  first 
tell  the  local  authorities  what  you  need 
in  the  way  of  accommodations  and  pro¬ 
vision  for  an  overflow  into  a  larger  place 
if  necessary,  and  And  out  whether  they 
will  be  furnished,  before  you  agree  to 
give  the  parish  the  privilege  of  the  meet¬ 
ing. 

3.  Have  every  meeting  short.  Let 
both  missionary  and  his  listeners  under¬ 
stand  that  there  will  be  an  after-meeting 
for  their  mutual  acquaintance  and  infor¬ 
mal  conference.  Then  give  the  audi¬ 
ence  to  the  missionary,  unwearied  by  a 
long  introduction  or  addresses  by  local 
speakers. 

4.  When  the  reporter  comes  to  you, 
talk  to  him  as  a  man  who  can  be  inter¬ 
ested  in  missions ;  you  will  naturally  pick 
out  the  best  points  of  the  address  as  your 
text.  If  you  win  his  interest  he  will 
know  how  to  group  the  points  so  as  to 
have  his  article  accepted  by  the  editor. 
Incidentally,  remember  that  press  reports 
of  the  earlier  meetings  in  a  series  are  in¬ 
valuable  in  gathering  an  audience  for  the 
others. 

5.  Where  possible,  arrange  maps  and 
charts  illustrating  the  conditions  of  the 
country  from  which  your  missionary 
comes  in  such  a  way  as  to  emphasize  its 
needs,  and  in  order  to  fix  in  mind  the 


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work  of  our  Church  there,  have  a  supply 
of  the  best  leaflets  of  the  Mission  Board 
upon  it,  distributed  at  the  close  of  the 
meeting. 

m.  Character  and  Number  of  No¬ 
tifications 

1.  Two  weeks  or  more  before  the  meet¬ 
ing  print  a  general  leaflet  giving  full 
particulars  for  Churchpeople.  Do  not  let 
it  beg  for  an  audience.  Simply  state  who 
the  missionary  is,  what  his  work  is,  whom 
it  will  interest  and  why.  Add  a  list  of 
liis  appointments  and  the  names  of  the 
committee  representing  the  various  so¬ 
cieties  you  are  especially  aiming  to  inter¬ 
est.  If  the  leaflet  shows  that  the  com¬ 
mittee  believes  the  meeting  will  be  ex¬ 
cellent,  that  is  enough.  Next  And  out 
how  many  copies  can  be  distributed 
among  the  members  of  each  society.  Add 
to  this  number  a  liberal  allowance  for 
distribution  in  the  pews  of  churches. 
Have  them  printed  and  order  the  printer 
to  keep  the  type  standing,  as  you  may 
want  more  copies.  You  probably  will. 

Have  your  printing  done  early,  (a) 
You  can  then  furnish  a  leaflet  as  mater¬ 
ial  for  local  parish  papers,  (b)  You  can 
mail  advance  copies  to  clergy  and  others 
with  a  note  of  comment  that  will  secure 
their  interest.  <  An  important  point. ^  (c) 
You  can  mail  your  programme  to  the 
missionary  who  is  coming  and  by  adding 
the  probable  character  of  each  audience 


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(age,  sex,  and  missionary  intelligence) 
you  will  greatly  help  him  to  choose  from 
his  material  such  facts  as  will  interest 
them. 

This  general  leaflet  should  be  distrib¬ 
uted  through  the  churches  and  societies 
early.  People  have  many  engagements, 
and  ten  days  or  two  weeks  is  not  too 
soon,  for  your  general  leaflet  is  not  to  be 
your  only  notification. 

2.  Two  or  three  kinds  of  leaflets  from 
the  Church  Missions  House  should  be 
distributed  carefully  but  generously  in 
the  churches  on  the  Sunday  after  the 
distribution  of  the  general  leaflet,  and 
just  before  the  series  of  meetings.  These 
leaflets  should  have  pictures  and  descrip¬ 
tion  of  some  one  place  or  kind  of  work. 
As  you  will  be  the  best  judge  of  what 
will  interest  your  neighbors,  write  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Church  Missions  House 
for  a  sample  of  all  leaflets  on  the  given 
country  that  are  available  for  general 
distribution.  Select  from  these  the  best 
one  for  each  class  of  people  you  are 
working  to  interest  and  order  the  quan¬ 
tity  you  will  need.  At  the  same  time 
order  from  a  local  dealer  some  rubber 
stamps,  each  giving  subject,  time  and 
place  of  one  of  the  meetings.  Then 
when  your  supply  comes,  stamp  the 
children’s  leaflet  with  the  notice  of  the 
children’s  meeting  and  distribute  among 
Sunday-schools,  stamp  the  '  Woman’s 
Auxiliary  leaflet  with  the  notice  of  the 


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Liieeting  you  specially  wish  women  to 
attend,  and  the  leaflet  for  the  general 
public  with  the  notice  of  the  general 
meeting,  etc.  Distribution  of  leaflets 
must  be  according  to  the  meetings  ’they 
advertise,  and  they  will  both  sort  your 
audiences  and  largely  prevent  the  at¬ 
tendance  from  being  unequal  at  the 
different  meetings.  Men  and  boys  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  will 
help  in  this  distribution,  and  the  leaflets 
not  taken  home  at  the  first  opportunity 
should  be  collected  for  distribution  after 
the  final  meeting. 

3.  For  special  notices  use  existing  ma¬ 
chinery  and  send  through  the  secretaries 
of  Church  societies  a  notice  to  their 
members  that  their  organization  will 

hold  its  next  meeting  at  - ,  and 

that  it  will  be  addressed  by  - . 

Having  found  out  definitely  at  the  first 
committee  meeting  from  the  leader  of 
each  society  whether  this  notification  of 
the  secretary  will  be  by  postal  to  each 
member  or  merely  by  a  general  notice, 
you  will  know  how  far  to  supplement 
this  notification  by  your  own  printed 
leaflet  or  the  Mission  Board  leaflet. 

4.  Notices  by  the  clergy.  Eemember 
that  the  average  clergyman  dislikes  to 
add  to  his  usual  long  list  of  announce¬ 
ments,  and  therefore  (a)  try  to  interest 
him  personally  in  the  meetings  before 
you  ask  him  to  give  out  any  notice.  If 
you  succeed  in  this  the  missionary  notice 


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will  be  clear  and  emphatic.  (6)  When 
you  have  not  had  the  opportunity  to 
have  a  clergyman  informed  personally 
or  by  letter  of  the  meetings,  ask  him  to 
call  attention  to  the  general  leaflet  when 
it  is  distributed  in  the  pews,  and  later, 
just  before  the  actual  visit  of  the  mis¬ 
sionary,  to  read  the  list  of  his  appoint¬ 
ments. 

5.  On  the  day  of  meetings  put  a  line 
in  the  newspapers,  giving  their  subject, 
time  and  place. 

6.  Reminders  by  personal  note  or  tele¬ 
phone  on  the  days  of  meeting  are  very 
useful  in  securing  attendance.  See  that 
the  Churchpeople  of  most  influence  in 
the  community,  and  upon  whom  you 
rely  for  missionary  support,  get  this  re¬ 
minder  from  some  friend.  It  is  not  wise 
to  beg  for  even  the  most  desirable  lis¬ 
tener.  “  Shall  I  see  you  at  the  meeting  ? 
It  is  going  to  be  a  capital  one”;  or 
“Shall  I  call  for  you  on  my  way?”  is 
enough. 

IV.  Is  It  Worth  While  ? 

Yes,  good  missionary  meetings  do  not 
happen,  any  more  than  good  political 
meetings  or  good  concerts.  They  must 
be  planned  to  suit  their  audience,  and 
the  people  who  are  to  make  up  their 
audience  must  be  informed  and  brought 
together.  There  is  much  at  stake  when 
a  missionary  visits  a  parish.  People  ex¬ 
pect  to  hear  of  the  needs  and  progress  of 


9. 


the  Kingdom  of  God.  If  the  address 
treats  them  as  children  to  be  amused,  or 
if  it  is  far  above  their  heads,  they  do  not 
put  it  down  to  a  lack  of  care  on  the  part 
of  the  committee  of  arrangements  or  to 
ignorance  of  local  conditions  on  the 
part  of  the  missionary,  but  they  think 
the  dulness  a  necessary  part  of  missions. 

The  visit  of  a  missionary  is  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  telling  men  the  facts  of  mis¬ 
sions.  They  are  the  seed  thoughts  of 
world- wide  Christianity.  Is  it  worth 
while  to  see  that  they  are  carefully 
planted  ? 

Every  unsuccessful  missionary  meet¬ 
ing  hinders,  and  every  successful  one 
helps,  the  coming  of  Christ’s  Kingdom. 


Pamphlet  900. 

Copies  of  this  paviphlet  may  be  obtain*  d  from 
The  Corresponding  Secretary,  Church  Missions 
Hoitse,  SSI  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 

All  offerings  for  missions  should  be  sent  to  Mr. 
George  C.  Thomas,  Treasurer,  Church  Missions 
House,  SSI  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 


Second  Edition,  August,  1905,  S.P.,  2M. 


